THE BRIEF

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Dr Christian Will See You Now had a big impact on viewers last year, so following it up

with a second series was a real pleasure.

The Complete Camera Company wanted to emulate the same set-up, whilst improving on anything that had been learnt during the first series. It was important to help the production team create a similar atmosphere in which patients had opened up to Dr Christian Jessen with their unusual and delicate symptoms.

 

THE CHALLENGES

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The location used during Series 1 had since been redeveloped and could not therefore be revisited, so the team at Firecracker had to find another suitable space with a medical license so that the medical professionals could practice fully, administering all the tests, treatments and medication required. The design element still stood with regards to the patients receiving high-quality private medical care, so with that in mind the new location

had to live up to the standards set in the previous year.

 

The CCC's Ben Hoffmann travelled with one of the Unit Managers to a floor of Guy’s Hospital in Central London to do an initial recce, and it was agreed that the location was ideal. The whole floor was out-of-use for the duration of the filming period, which meant that the crew could film without disturbing visitors to the hospital itself.

 

One of the main challenges The CCC faced with this series was that the location was situated on the 14th floor of the hospital in Central London. This meant that logistics of kit delivery had to be planned very carefully and timed perfectly. With the help of Firecracker an unload day was arranged so that a small team could park the 7.5 tonne truck

behind the hospital and transfer 3 tonnes of kit into lifts to the 14th floor as quickly as possible.

This gave the rig team time to get up and running for a full rehearsal day prior to the start of filming.

 

PTZ cameras would need to be installed in order to cover the location effectively.

There was an increase of cameras from Series 1 which meant that we could offer the Directors and Editors even more coverage, including Dr Christian’s consulting room, 2 x specialist rooms, the reception area, main entrance, entrance corridor and the treatment room corridor. Due to the amount of space at the location both galleries could be built in one of the disused rooms opposite the consulting rooms, meaning the cabling to the cameras was shorter

and the production team were closer to the action.

 

Radio microphones were used for the contributors, doctors, nurses, specialists and receptionists. Atmospheric microphones were installed across the surgery to capture incidental audio.  

Particularly important with this show is capturing the moments as they happen; due to the nature of the documentary the action unfolds completely genuinely and patients are introduced to the doctor in exactly the same way they would be in real life. There are no engineered situations, so if a poignant moment isn’t recorded it is impossible to recapture.

In order to make sure nothing was missed the cameras were placed strategically across each room and

The CCC crewed two full galleries with Directors, Camera Operators and Vision Engineers.

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THE RESULTS

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The final show was an 8 x 60 minute series for UKTV’s Channel W, which aired over consecutive weeks and covered a variety of patient conditions. From narcolepsy to Tourette’s, hair loss to Poland Syndrome, Dr Christian and his team helped to resolve a wide variety of issues whilst supporting patients throughout their journey.

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FACTS & FIGURES

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Filmed: September 2017

Aired: October - December 2017

Channel: W

Location: London

Cameras: 22

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CRITICAL ACCLAIM

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“the stream of patients willing to share their most intimate details on TV doesn’t appear to be letting up”

The Mirror